You can claim the cost of transport and incidentals (including meals if travel involves overnight stay) provided the travel is directly related to your job function and you have the correct documents to prove the expenditure.
There are four different methods of claiming work related motor vehicle expenses however, we strongly advise you to keep a logbook for the business travel.
When we complete your tax returns we can use the method that gets the best deduction for you. Without a logbook and receipts we may be restricted to two statutory methods which may not get the best claim for you.
Our tax accountants can advise you if your circumstances will allow a legitimate claim for your vehicle and what you will need to do to ensure you get the best claim possible.
Travel for Courses Relevant to Work
Seminars and courses relevant to work are deductible. However, the travel to those seminars needs to be apportioned in some circumstances. If you attend a course followed by a three week overseas holiday then the travel would be considered a private trip and the tax office would only allow the course fees, taxi fares to the course and accommodation for the nights of the course.
You would need to demonstrate that the course was the dominant reason for the travel and the holiday was incidental to the course or business component of the trip.
Flights to and from a conference or mileage to a conference relevant to your work will be allowable if that was the sole purpose.
This is a complex issue that you need to discuss with our tax accountants before you embark on travel for courses.